|
Please Note |
|
Particulates - solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in the air. These particles can form what is often called industrial smog comprising of sulphur dioxide that is a product of burning coal and oil for heat, manufacturing and electric power. Sulphur dioxide then reacts with oxygen in the air to become sulphur trioxide. This can lead to what is termed acid rain when over several days water vapour reacts with the sulphur trioxide to form sulphuric acid. The above table and information might not be as accurate for Australia as it should be with mining corporations and governments amending rules and regulations from time to time. The content has been based on data collated from various sources dating back as far as 1980 and will not necessarily reflect the thinking of every metalurgist, chemists, geologist or those concerned with climate change. No paper will please everyone and debate is good if based on facts and not solely on theories. We encourage dialogue and all suggestions that can improve on the information given. Improvements can be sent to info@energy.edu.au. The base for many of the ideas used in this and other charts can be found in: |
Actual and Potential Environmental Impacts on Alternative Energy Systems
Click on the Energy Heading for cross refernce with Pros and Cons of each energy system - just click on the back button to return to this page.
| Energy System | Air Pollution | Water Pollution | Land Disruption | Possible Large Scale Disasters | ||||
| Decreased | Decreased | Decreased | None | |||||
Water power |
Negligible | Disruption of aquatic ecosystems | Flooding in areas to form lake(s), ecosystem disruption, loss of wildlife and human habitat, disruption of estuary into which river flows. | Dam breaks | ||||
| Negligible | Estuary disruption | Very little |
None | |||||
| Ocean Thermal Gradients | Local climate change | Ocean ecosystem disruption, marine life disruption | Estuary disruption | None | ||||
| Negligible | Negligible | Negligible | None | |||||
| Negligible except for moderate amount from materials (cement, steel, glass) needed to make collectors | Negligible | Requires land for large farms of solar collectors, disruption of desert ecosystems | Depletion of water resources in arid regions | |||||
| Wind Energy | ||||||||
| Negligible except for some noise and aesthetic degradation | Negligible | Negligible | None | |||||
| possible local or regional climate changes | Negligible | Negligible | None | |||||
| Geothermal Energy | Hydrogen sulphide and ammonia, global climate change from carbon dioxide, radioactive materials, noise, local climate change, odour | Dissolved solids (salinity), runoff, excess heat | Subsidence | Depletion and contamination of water resources in arid regions | ||||
| Biomass | ||||||||
|
Particulates and hydrocarbons, global climate change from carbon dioxide | Runoff of fertisers and pesticides, sediment from erosion | Large use of land, soil erosion, loss of habitat for wildlife | None | ||||
| Derived Fuels |  |
|||||||
| Biofuels | ||||||||
|
Global climate change from carbon dioxide | Runoff of fertilisers and pesticides, sediment from soil erosion | Large use of land, soil erosion, soil salinity and waterlogging from irrigation, ecosystem simplification, loss of wildlife habitats | None | ||||
| Hydrogen Gas | ||||||||
|
Depends on source of electricity or heat in the process | None | None | Pipeline or cylinder explosions | ||||
| Synthetic | ||||||||
|
Similar to coal but less pollutant | Same as coal plus increased pollution from heavy metals, phenols, hydrocarbons | Same as coal | Same as coal, earthquakes from blasts for underground coal gasification, pipeline explosions | ||||
|
Similar to coal but less pollutant | Same as coal except increased pollution from heavy metals, phenols, hydrocarbons | Same as coal | Same as coal, pipeline spills | ||||
| Urban Wastes | ||||||||
|
Sulphur oxides, particulates (heavy metals), nitrogen oxides, hydrogen chloride, hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulphide, global climate change from carbon dioxide, odour | Leaching of dissolved solids and heavy metals from ash | Decreases solid waste disposal | Fire or explosion in incinerator | ||||
|
||||||||